Although you had plenty of creative and clever suggestions, you also disagreed on the type of organism making the structure. The two leading contenders are spiders and fungi. Honestly, the structure is bizarre enough to make either argument.

My initial hypothesis when I saw the pictures and before I spoke with Georgia Tech doctoral student Troy Alexander was that it was something made by a spider. But after reading your suggestions, I’m not quite as positive, because it does look rather fungal, too. (Also see “What’s This Mysterious Circle on the Seafloor?”)

The arguments for an altered spider web say that it’s either a way for the arachnid to trap food or as a sort of spider nursery. The structure’s fence posts seem to angle inward, noted several readers, which would imply that it’s meant to keep an item trapped inside the structure rather than keeping predators out.

It could be that the structure is meant to keep baby spiders from straying too far from safety and perhaps providing some measure of protection for the nest. Alternatively, the spider could have wrapped up a delicious morsel to preserve for later. (This takes restaurant doggie bags to a whole new level!)

Those in the fungi camp say that the main body of the organism is in the center of the structure, with hyphae—the long, branching filaments from which the fungi grows—forming the fence posts. Given the huge diversity of fungi and how little we know about them, it’s totally possible.

The intricate object is less than an inch long. Photograph courtesy Troy S. Alexander, Tambopata Research Center

Other potential contenders include a cocoon for a moth or butterfly.

Those of you who suggested names generally favored the spider camp, but there were several notable exceptions. Here are a few of our favorites, in no particular order:

Araneam sepem (roughly, the Latin name for “fence spider”)

Bombyx saepemque (Latin for “silk fence”)

Stonehenge spider OR Druid spider (for building something that looks like Stonehenge)

Merry-go-round web

Tom Sawyer spider (for the Mark Twain character in the famous fence-painting scene)

Robert Frost spider, since good fences make good neighbors

Spider’s kiss, since the inside looks like a white chocolate Hershey’s kiss

Saruman spider, after the Lord of the Rings character with a large white tower

Flytrap fungus

If this architect organism is shown to be a new species, Troy Alexander will have final say over its name if and when he publishes his findings. Until then, these names are fantastic. Keep them coming in the comments!

Comments

Zahid Hussain

Pakistan

January 22, 2014, 5:01 am

It’s name should be “STONEHENGE SPIDER” it’ web looks like that….

Zahid Hussain

Pakistan

January 22, 2014, 4:57 am

I think this creature should be named like ” PRISON SPIDER ” because he makes the web like structure that looks like prison and something high confidential culprit is kept….. in short it’s look like prison

Karl

Saskatoon

January 16, 2014, 2:04 pm

Jiminy Picket.

Aurelio Malo

United Kingdom

January 15, 2014, 5:25 pm

I am not an astrophysicist, but a biologist, but this spider needs to be called the:
“Rocket Launching Spider”!!!
The “top security perimeter fence” seems like the ones built around rocket launching sites, and the “rocket and the cloud of dust” that follow after ignition seem perfectly replicated too!
There are amazing creatures out there!

Byuri

September 16, 2013, 2:40 pm

“The Spider of Babel.”

Somebody Random

Nowhere

September 13, 2013, 1:22 pm

On the one that says, “Saruman Spider”, Saruman the Wizard has a BLACK tower, not a white one, but his beard and cloak are white. Sorry I just had to say that…

Robelle Berondo

Philippines

September 13, 2013, 6:00 am

None is sure if a spider really made it, so I prefer I let the spider out of it. Rudium album: white fencing

rothnacum

belgium

September 12, 2013, 3:35 am

maybe it is atracting for us as it is for their prey.. now serious, is there footage of how it works?

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